Eyewitness NORTH AMERICAN NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN INDIAN North American Indian Eyewitness (c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved. Unnotched feather for scalping a Dakota killed by another warrior – dots of rabbit fur indicate how many bullets in his gun when he took the scalp Eagle feathers worn in a headband by Ojibwe, an Ojibwa warrior, to symbolize his war honors – notches were won for killing and scalping Dakotas Menominee moccasins Dakota beaded vest Choctaw sash North Greenland Inuit snow goggles Dakota pipe bag Arapaho toy horse Tlingit shaman’s headdress Dakota doll in traditional dress (c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved. Eyewitness North American Indian Winnebago roach headdress Tlingit hair ornament made from pig’s tusk Written by DAVID MURDOCH Chief Consultant STANLEY A. FREED, PhD Curator, Department of Anthropology, A.M.N.H. Pair of Omaha calumets Photographed by LYNTON GARDINER DK Publishing, Inc. THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY In association with (c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved. 4 LONDON, NEW YORK, MELBOURNE, MUNICH, and DELHI Project editor Marion Dent Art editor Vicky Wharton Managing editor Simon Adams Managing art editor Julia Harris Research Céline Carez Picture research Sarah Moule Production Catherine Semark Editorial consultants Laila Williamson, Department of Anthropology, and Scarlett Lovell, Director of Special Publications, American Museum of Natural History, New York; and Mary Ann Lynch R E Editors Elizabeth Hester, Laura Buller Publishing director Beth Sutinis Art director Dirk Kaufman DTP designer Milos Orlovic Production Chris Avgherinos, Ivor Parker This Eyewitness ™ Book has been conceived by Dorling Kindersley Limited and Editions Gallimard This edition published in the United States in 2005 by DK Publishing, Inc. 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014 05 06 07 08 09 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Copyright © 1995, © 2005, Dorling Kindersley Limited All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Murdoch, David. North American Indian / written by David Murdoch — 1st American ed. p. cm. — (Eyewitness books) 1. Native American—Juvenile literature. [1. Native American] I. Title. CC171.M36 1995 930.1—dc20 94-9378 ISBN 0-7566-1081-8 (hardcover) ISBN 0-7566-1082-6 (lib. bdg.) Color reproduction by Colourscan, Singapore Printed in China by Toppan Printing Co., (Shenzhen) Ltd Discover more at Arapaho Ghost Dance club Penobscot stone club Dakota whistle Dakota war club Navajo quirt Apache war club Hopi bow and arrows Apache tobacco pouch (c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved. 5 Contents 6 Peopling of the Americas 8 A vast continent 10 Medicine and the spirit world 12 The far Northeast 14 The League of the Iroquois 16 The three sisters 18 The Mid-Atlantic Seaboard 20 The Ohio River Valley 22 Western Great Lakes 24 The settled Southeast 26 The “Five Civilized Tribes” 28 The Great Plains 30 The Dakota (Sioux) 32 Mandan and Hidatsa 34 War and peace 36 The Sun Dance 38 The high Plateau 40 The Great Basin 42 Californian hunter-gatherers 44 The stunning Southwest 46 The Pueblo peoples 48 Apache and Navajo 50 Papago and Pima 52 Land of the totem poles 54 Art second to none 56 The power of potlatch 58 Northern hunters 60 The frozen Arctic 62 Modern times 64 Did you know? 66 Who’s who? 68 Find out more 70 Glossary 72 Index Blackfeet buffalo skull used in Sun Dance ceremony (c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved. Larger Clovis point could measure 5 in (13 cm) in length Peopling of the Americas W ? Archeologists agree that human beings probably trekked across the Ice Age land bridge from Siberia – but they do not agree on when this happened. Once thought to be 12,000 years ago, the date might be 40,000 years ago according to some new scientific theories. Some present-day Native North Americans believe their sacred stories place their beginnings in America, just as some Christians believe human beings were created in the Garden of Eden. Archeology shows that, however they got here, the first Americans, adapting to changing climate and environment, evolved from hunters using stone-tipped weapons to more advanced societies of farmers and artisans. ICE AGE HUNTERS Definite proof of Ice Age human beings in America came in 1926, with the discovery at Folsom, New Mexico, of carefully shaped stone weapon points dating from 10,000 years ago. In 1932 weapon points from an even older people, up to 12,000 years ago, were unearthed at Clovis, New Mexico. 6 MIGRATION THEORY During the Ice Age huge amounts of water froze into glaciers, Bering Strait became drained, and a wide, low, treeless plain (Beringia) connected Siberia and Alaska. About 12,000 years ago an ice- free corridor opened. Archeologists believe that paleo-Indians crossed Beringia, following the corridor to open country south of the glaciers. Glacier (in violet) Ice-free corridor Beringia Map of North America showing the human migration route from Siberia across the Ice Age land bridge Exposed land (in green) Model of an atlatl – from the Aztec word meaning “spear thrower” Small Clovis point Folsom point Banner stone (a weight of stone) on which spear rested Wooden bar up to 3 ft (1 m) long A STRONGER, LONGER THROW Hunters of mammoths, mastodons, antique bison, and giant sloths from 10,000 years ago – such as the Folsom people in New Mexico – used an atlatl, a special device for throwing a spear. It was a bar with a flat stone on which the spear rested and a curved tip that engaged the spear’s butt. The greater leverage gave a much stronger thrust. Slate spear point from New England Copper spear point from the Great Lakes area Grip of hide with loops for fingers BECOMING EXTINCT The end of the Ice Age, 10,000 years ago, saw many large animals, like the mammoth, become extinct, perhaps through environmental change or overhunting. From 5000 .. to 1000 .., the peoples of the Eastern forests learned to hunt woodland game. They lived in permanent settlements and developed com- plex societies. They were expert tool- makers, making a variety of spear points. Copper spear point from the Great Lakes region Chipped- stone spear point from Tennessee (c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved. 7 Mimbres pot, a burial offering, was ritually “killed” by puncturing base to let the spirit escape ANASAZI ARTISANS Architecture and town design were the noteworthy skills of the Anasazi, their great buildings standing today as reminders of a complex civilization. They also produced interesting pottery and were skilled in working with turquoise (above). Frog was symbol of water in Anasazi culture Rare jet ornament found at Pueblo Bonito Eye made of inlaid turquoise Turquoise and jet inlay Polished Anasazi deer-bone spatula WHY DID THEY DISAPPEAR? The Anasazi (a Navajo word meaning “ancient enemy”) lived on today’s Arizona–New Mexico border. By .. 1100 they had created the great stone-and-clay build- ings later to be called pueblos (pp. 46–47). Their culture faded in the late 1200s, perhaps irreparably damaged by a prolonged drought. DESERT DWELLERS The Hohokam people (from the Pima word for “the vanished ones”) lived in the desert near the Gila River, Arizona, c. 500 .. to .. 1500. Expert irrigators, they avoided war, grew corn, built towns, and were superb artisans, making jewelry cleverly cut from shells (left) and fine pottery (below). Pair of Hohokam shell bracelets Red-on-buff pottery was traditional Hohokam style TRADITIONAL STYLE The Hohokam, predecessors of the Papago and Pima (pp. 50–51), may have been an off- shoot of one of the great Central American civilizations, perhaps the Maya. Their early pottery seems similar to ancient Mexican designs. About .. 400, they began making striking two-color red-on-buff pots with simple line patterns. Later, more complex designs included animals, human figures, and their gods. The Hohokam cremated their dead, sometimes placing the ashes in these traditional vessels, which were buried. Animal head MOGOLLONMIMBRES The Mogollon people (named for their mountain homeland on the Arizona–New Mexico border) lived isolated in mountain valleys c. 300 ..– .. 1300. The Mimbres, a related group living near New Mexico’s Mimbres River, produced remarkable black-on-white pottery from c. .. 700. Their artists later created vivid designs of every kind of creature (animal, bird, and human) and geometric patterns – often mixing them. (c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved. 8 A vast continent B , north of Mexico were home to about 1.3 million people. Over 11,500 years, the descendants of the first Siberian migrants had diverged into more than 300 tribes – the densest population lived east of the Mississippi, in California, and in the Northwest. They had evolved ways of life exploiting food resources in different environments and developed high artistic skills. Their world was constantly changing – game animals became extinct; drought and tribal warfare led to migrations. Over the next 400 years, Europeans would bring about such catastrophic changes as loss of territory, population decline, and cultural restrictions for all Native North Americans. THE TERROR OF THE PLAINS In 1500 the Cheyenne were not yet feared Plains warriors (pp. 28–29). Settled in villages in Minnesota, they farmed and hunted. They migrated westward in the mid-1700s, abandoning farming and becoming nomadic Plains horsemen dependent on the buffalo. An eagle-feather war bonnet (left) became their emblem of an experienced and respected warrior. Eagle feather tipped with horsehair Red cloth, glass beads, and metal disk decorate headdress Fur tassel Apache buckskin cap decorated with glass beads and metal disk Ceremonial war bonnet of Cheyenne chief White Eagle APACHE WARRIOR The Apache (pp. 48–49) were newcomers in the Southwest in 1500; they seem to have migrated from Canada about 50 years earlier. The Spanish explorer Francisco de Coronado (1510–1554) thought the Chiricahua Apaches he met in 1540 were “a gentle people.” Later Spaniards came to disagree with him! Eagle- feather plumage (c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved. 9 Winnebago roach headdress CULTURAL AREAS This map shows the ten North American regions whose geography, climate, and resources distinctively shaped the cultures of the tribes who lived in them – eastern farming tribes, settled villages in the Southwest, nomadic buffalo hunters on the Plains, and Inuit in the Arctic. By .. 1500 Native peoples spoke over 200 different languages. In a given area two neighbors’ speech might be as different as French and German – hence the wide use of sign language on the Plains. Map of North America showing the cultural areas of Native North Americans DRESSING FOR WAR In the Western Great Lakes, when village- dwelling Winnebago (pp. 22–23) left to hunt buffalo, they did so on foot. If on a raid, a warrior wore a roach headdress if he had killed but not scalped an enemy. A roach was attached by tying a braid of hair to a flat, thin plate of bone (called a roach spreader), which pressed the headdress to the head. Two Timucua with traditional body tattoos Roach made of dyed animal hair – an eagle feather was added if a scalp had been taken TWO TIMUCUA John White – in the 1580s briefly linked with England’s “Lost Colony” at Roanoke in North Carolina – used his artist’s skills to portray the tribes he met in the Southeast. Later, he copied pictures of the Florida Timucua (right) made by his friend Jacques le Moyne. White was fascinated by Native peoples and helped create an image in Europe of a gentle and noble people. Sadly, by the 1700s his still-popular pictures fed European bigotry and prejudice; his Native peoples were seen as naked, shameless, heathen savages. Swansdown surrounds painted wooden mask, which represents an eagle DRIVING OUT EVIL SPIRITS For the Northwest peoples (pp. 52–57), the spirit world affected every aspect of the tribe’s life. Their shamans were revered because they could tap into the spirit world by acquiring a guardian spirit, represented by a fearsome mask with an elaborate headdress. A shaman’s powers let him or her predict events, bring good fortune, and cure the sick. Because it was believed that evil spirits caused illness, the shaman fought fire with fire, using the guardian spirit to drive out evil. White eagle feather Shaman’s headdress of the Tlingit, a Northwest Coast tribe Magpie tail feather ARCTIC SUBARCTIC NORTHWEST PLATEAU GREAT BASIN CALIFORNIA SOUTHWEST SOUTHEAST PLAINS NORTHEAST (c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved. [...]... Reserved The far Northeast A , the wooded Northeast stretched from the St Lawrence River to presentday North Carolina and west to the Mississippi Its peoples made the Map of North America showing most of an environment rich in game the Northeast Indian lands, including New England, the and fish Except in the very cold far Mid-Atlantic, Ohio River Valley, northern areas, they... beans Northern tribes, like the Penobscot and Malecite, living amid lakes and rivers, developed the birchbark canoe, much envied by their neighbors From the early 1600s, fur trading with Europeans brought new materials and ideas However, Northeast peoples (like the powerful Iroquois League) were drawn into the European struggle for North America in the 1700s and were forced to pick sides in the American. .. string Animal and bird skins decorate this Blackfeet shaman’s bearskin robe A HEALING CEREMONY Quinault carved wooden wand American painter George Catlin (1796–1872) was determined to record the way of life of Native Americans before it was destroyed by whites He made a tour of the American West (1830–36), having gained the confidence of 48 tribes, and produced over 500 vivid paintings and sketches and... INFLUENCES Before contact with Europeans, clothing in the Northeast was usually made from skins, sometimes decorated with painted symbols or dyed porcupine quills European settlers brought new materials and decorations, such as woven cloth, glass beads, and tailored coats and trousers The peoples of the Northeast adopted many of these innovations Northeastern men traditionally wore a skin coat with painted... terrorized their Indian enemies and offered fierce resistance to whites Their lives depended on the buffalo – and the end of the great herds meant the end of their independence Between 1862 and 1877 they forcefully resisted the U.S advance into their lands In 1876, in eastern Montana near the Little Bighorn River, they inflicted on the U.S Army the most famous defeat by Native North Americans Geometric...Medicine and the spirit world P of the Native North American Invisible but everywhere, this supernatural force of the spirit world touched people, animals, and plants Shamans were special men and women who could heal the sick and capture some of this... the most northeastern U.S The framework was made of white cedar, split with hammers and wedges It was covered with large sheets of bark laced together with roots and waterproofed with resin from the black spruce Light enough to be carried, the canoe could take a load of 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) It was instantly adopted by European explorers and fur traders of the 1600s Like all the peoples of the northeastern... from white settlers and became widespread in the clothing of the Northeast Men and women wore the same style of moccasin 13 (c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley All Rights Reserved The League of the Iroquois O early in the 1600s, CORNPLANTER Son of a Dutch trader father and a Seneca mother, Cornplanter (1740?–1836) fought Americans during the Revolution (1775–1783) Later this respected... extended along the Mid-Atlantic Seaboard (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina) Its people lived in villages of bark-covered, domed or arch-roofed dwellings They raised corn and hunted in the forests They were led by sachems (chiefs), who ruled by consensus In 1585 John White, briefly part of the English colony at Roanoke (North Carolina) before it mysteriously disappeared, made paintings of... Later published as engravings, they became the European stereotype of “Indians” for the next 200 years When the English settled the colony of Virginia, they encountered the strong Powhatan alliance, which nearly destroyed them Even more powerful were the Delaware, a confederation whose influence in the 1600s stretched far to the north and west Their power was later broken by the Iroquois Elaborate decorations . Eyewitness NORTH AMERICAN NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN INDIAN North American Indian Eyewitness (c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved. Unnotched. Data Murdoch, David. North American Indian / written by David Murdoch — 1st American ed. p. cm. — (Eyewitness books) 1. Native American Juvenile literature. [1. Native American] I. Title. CC171.M36. doll in traditional dress (c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved. Eyewitness North American Indian Winnebago roach headdress Tlingit hair ornament made from pig’s tusk Written